Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 17,490 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 1.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,357,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 17,490 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $134,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter valued at $77,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the second quarter valued at about $86,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $112,000. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.09.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI opened at $102.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.36. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.84. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $70.31 and a one year high of $108.07.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Merit Medical Systems Profile

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions.